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The first meeting of newly appointed members of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will be held on Oct. 1. The committee includes 30 outside experts who advise the Assistant Secretary of Commerce on a range of spectrum policy and technology issues. Two co-chairs lead the committee: Jennifer Warren, Vice President, Technology Policy & Regulation, Lockheed Martin; and Charla Rath, independent consultant and former Verizon executive.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross selected the committee members based on their technical background and expertise, as well as a diversity and balance in points of view, consistent with the CSMAC Membership Balance Plan. The Oct. 1 meeting will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (EDT) at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, 1111 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington D.C.

August 21, 2019 by By Amy Robinson, Intern, and Rafi Goldberg, Policy Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis and Development

The Internet has fundamentally reshaped how Americans live, work and communicate. These changes have become more pronounced with speedier wireless Internet services, and increased use of mobile devices. One recent trend is the emergent “sharing economy” where people are buying, selling and trading goods and services with each other. Examples including ride-hailing services, lodging and e-commerce.

In our most recent Internet Use Survey, conducted in 2017, NTIA included questions about participation in the sharing economy for the first time. The results show that a third of Internet users in the U.S. reported selling goods or requesting or offering services from others through online platforms. This compares with the significant majority of Internet users – 69 percent – who reported using the Internet for more traditional e-commerce activities such as online shopping or travel reservations.

Sharing economy participants tend to be younger, have higher incomes and education levels, and live in metropolitan areas, our data reveal.

Internet users were also much more likely to request sharing, or peer-to-peer, services than provide their own services or sell goods. While 26 percent reported requesting services, only 6 percent of Internet users offered their own services and 11 percent reported selling their own goods online.

Spectrum policy leaders from the Administration, private industry and federal government will participate in NTIA’s 2019 Spectrum Policy Symposium on Sept. 10 at the National Press Club. The program will provide updates on efforts to develop the National Spectrum Strategy as required by the Oct. 25, 2018 Presidential Memorandum on “Developing a Sustainable Spectrum Strategy for America’s Future.”

How can a smart city improve communities? At the recent Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) Expo, city officials across the country dug into this challenge. The three-day meeting welcomed shared stories about smart city projects that are helping communities improve agriculture and health care, reduce traffic congestion, increase energy efficiency, and speed emergency response times.

“Smart tech can deliver drastic improvements for our communities,” said NTIA Acting Assistant Secretary Diane Rinaldo, who talked about the benefits of interagency collaboration at the event. NTIA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate co-sponsor the annual meeting.

July 19, 2019 by Keith Gremban, Director of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

On Thursday, NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) released final test reports to commercial entities that participated in spectrum sharing testing on a model that would allow commercial and military use in the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band. The completed tests will drive progress toward initial commercial deployments in the band, prized for its excellent mix of capacity and coverage capabilities. With 4G LTE technology for the band available today, industry has already begun to develop specifications to support 5G deployments.

NTIA’s ITS oversaw rigorous testing, which included using a wide variety of scenarios and situations to test a Spectrum Access System’s (SAS) ability to manage CBRS devices while protecting incumbent federal and commercial operations in the 3.5 GHz band. The Federal Communications Commission anticipates relying on the test reports to certify that a SAS is complying with its rules.

Last year, ITS conducted the certification testing on Environmental Sensing Capability sensors for the CBRS band. The ESC sensors are intended to work with the SASs to enable dynamic sharing and were certified by the FCC in late April 2019. The completion of both the SAS and the ESC testing continues a 100-year tradition of ITS performing independent research and engineering in telecommunications to advance efficient spectrum use.

July 17, 2019 by Shawn Cochran, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Policy Analysis and Development

Today, NTIA filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update the rules governing Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) so that it better reflects current technologies and industry practices. NTIA filed the petition and a draft set of updated rules on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

TSP is a program managed by the DHS’s Emergency Communications Division (ECD). It supports Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities; critical infrastructure service providers; first responders; 9-1-1 call centers; health care providers; and other organizations that use telecommunications to perform national security and emergency preparedness functions by providing prioritized installation or restoration of eligible telecommunications services. TSP helps ensure that the most critical telecommunications services will be available as quickly as possible.

The rules governing TSP were developed in the late 1980s and have not been updated since the program began. While the purpose of TSP remains fundamentally unchanged, the program has needed to evolve to accommodate new technologies as well as meet the increasing communications needs of the national security and emergency preparedness community.

NTIA’s engineering lab has shared Spectrum Access System (SAS) laboratory test reports with the commercial entities that participated in spectrum sharing testing at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. The reports are a critical part of advancing the sharing model in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service 3.5 GHz band.

The reports include a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the test results to ensure accuracy and consistency. This work adds to already substantial work in progress in developing the 3.5 GHz band, which is prime mid-band spectrum that offers a mix of capacity and coverage capabilities. The SAS manages the environment where potential commercial spectrum systems will operate. The Federal Communications Commission anticipates relying on the test reports in certifying that an SAS is in compliance with its rules.

Charles Cooper, a seasoned executive and spectrum engineer with more than 25 years of broad federal and private sector experience, will become the new Associate Administrator of NTIA’s Office of Spectrum Management on July 1. He joins the agency after six years at the Federal Communications Commission directing radio frequency enforcement activities.

Before joining the FCC, Cooper served as senior engineer and partner with du Treil, Lundin, and Rackley, Inc., an engineering firm specializing in radio frequency coordination and design. Cooper is a recognized subject matter expert on engineering principles applicable to a wide mix of communications technologies.

Cooper will lead a dedicated team of recognized spectrum experts whose many years of experience and strong interagency relationships are essential to NTIA’s mission of effectively managing federal spectrum. He will assist the Commerce Department with development of the National Spectrum Strategy, and coordinate interagency preparation for the pivotal World Radiocommunication Conference this fall that sets rules for global use of the radiofrequency spectrum.

May 29, 2019 by Keith Gremban, Director of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has adopted NTIA software as the global standard to optimize radiofrequency (RF) spectrum sharing between air and ground systems across a broad range of frequencies. The software was released earlier this month and is available on NTIA's Github page.

Software standards are a foundational tool for work to enable spectrum sharing, which is playing a key role in helping meet the demand for more airwave capacity as the U.S. advances development of 5G wireless networks and other emerging technologies. Scientists and engineers must be able to accurately calculate radio signal performance under various conditions, and from there build models to protect against interference when two users share the same spectrum.

May 22, 2019 by Fiona Alexander, Associate Administrator Office of International Affairs

The United States is among 42 countries to approve a new international agreement for building trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), marking the first significant step in a global approach on this issue. Adherence to the agreement will foster innovation and trust in AI as it establishes principles for the responsible development and stewardship of AI, while ensuring respect for democratic values. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted these official “Recommendations” this week at its annual ministerial meeting in Paris.

The agreement aligns with the President’s Executive Order on AI, which sets five major goals for maintaining U.S. leadership in AI, including a call to work with international partners to ensure continued innovation consistent with American values. The Executive Order also highlights the need for protecting safety, security, privacy, and confidentiality in data used for AI research and development, and the promotion of AI while upholding civil liberties, privacy, and American values.